Alabama

Design of Hand Avenue in Bay Minette may be altered

BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- Hand Avenue in downtown Bay Minette could soon look a little different: reduced from four-lanes to two, with a center turn lane and a designated bicycle path along the road.

Robbie Strom with Hutchinson, Moore and Rauch LLC made that proposal Tuesday during a presentation at the city council meeting. The engineering firm was hired by the city to draw up the proposals for a redesign of Ala. 287/Hand Avenue and a new route that would remove commercial truck traffic from Courthouse Square and Hand Avenue.

Strom said the three-lane design for Hand Avenue creates a more efficient, safer route for drivers and emergency vehicles, while allowing a path for cyclists.

Mayor Jamie Tillery said the city hasn’t yet signed off on the three-lane approach for the state highway, but has forwarded the design concept to the Alabama Department of Transportation for consideration.

The $2 million resurfacing project will be handled and financed by ALDOT with input from city officials.

Matt Erickson, construction manager with ALDOT, initially said Thursday morning that the new three-lane design submitted by the city would be implemented when repaving begins later this month. He later backed off that comment after Tillery contacted state highway officials alerting them that the city had not yet confirmed that design.

“What was submitted was conceptual in nature and it is still being reviewed by ALDOT,” Erickson said Thursday afternoon. “We will be getting with Bay Minette and talking to our design engineers a little further and review it before we actually implement that change.”

Erickson said the road construction will likely begin on the portion of Ala. 287 between Ala. 59 and Interstate 65, and that will take about one month. After that, the state will turn its attention to repaving and re-striping Hand Avenue.

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Alternate truck route 

During the work session, Strom also presented two proposals that would divert commercial truck traffic from Hand Avenue and Courthouse Square by taking drivers along Ala. 59/U.S. 31 to D’Olive Street, and then to one of two suggested paths.

(Courtesy of HMR)The first design reroutes commercial traffic to First Street in downtown Bay Minette.

In the first design, the trucks would turn onto First Street travel through the business district and get back on U.S. 31 from Hoyle or Blackburn avenues. In the second design, drivers would turn off D’Olive Street onto Armstrong Avenue, travel along Railroad Street to Blackburn Avenue, before exiting on U.S. 31.

Both designs come with needed infrastructure changes, Strom told those in attendance. The intersection of D’Olive and Ala. 59 will have to be altered to allow for a larger turning radius for the

The second option redirects traffic to Railroad Street.

trucks, and the “stacking length” in the turn lanes will have to be increased to accommodate the extra trucks using the route, Strom said.

In the first option, other changes include relocating some utility poles “to allow trucks to navigate onto First Street easier,” Strom said. The intersection of Hoyle or Blackburn Avenue will also need “substantial improvements to its turning radius,” he said, to provide ample space for trucks to maneuver through the area.

The second design, along Railroad Street, will also need a wider turning radius and the city needs to make sure “there is an ample amount of right-of-way to accomplish that,” Strom said.

Councilman Mike Phillips said the council needs to be thoughtful in deciding what route to pursue, and he wants to hear cost estimates before committing to any project or route. Phillips also said the expansion of the Beach Express could also alleviate some of that traffic as well.

“I don’t want to spend a lot of money if we don’t have to spend it,” Phillips said.

Tillery said additional presentations are planned for 5 p.m. Monday and Jan. 30 to continue seeking input on both the Hand Avenue redesign and the alternate truck route. The council will then take both projects under consideration at its Feb. 6 meeting, before sharing the results with ALDOT officials.